


Mistletoe and Holly ('Tis the Season to be Jolly)

by SymmetryLocked



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluffy, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-07 09:59:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5452574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SymmetryLocked/pseuds/SymmetryLocked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"On the Ark, they had celebrated what was called the holiday season. While certain aspects of it had certainly been lost amongst the years, most parts of it still remained—spending time with family, friends, gift-giving, and decorating. And, of course, some traditions were never forgotten. One of which was the ever-enduring tradition of kissing under the mistletoe." </p><p>Kane dislikes the mistletoe tradition because of a bad experience with it in the past, but Abby wants to change his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistletoe and Holly ('Tis the Season to be Jolly)

On the Ark, they had celebrated what was called the holiday season. While certain aspects of it had certainly been lost amongst the years, most parts of it still remained—spending time with family, friends, gift-giving, and decorating. And, of course, some traditions were never forgotten. One of which was the ever-enduring tradition of kissing under the mistletoe.

While real mistletoe had obviously no longer been available when they were in space, there were several plastic ones that kids made a game of essentially putting them up in strategic locations to get a quick kiss from their crushes. Many people simply adored this tradition and were glad it remained, whilst others utterly loathed it.

Marcus Kane fell in the latter category.

He had been hoping, secretly, that upon their return to the ground, the whole damned thing would be forgotten. He hoped that upon seeing snow for the very first time, there would be no need to keep the old tradition alive, that it could easily be replaced by snowball fights or something of the like. Honestly, his wish had almost become a reality until Jackson had found the damn patches of mistletoe out in the forest when hunting around for medical supplies. He brought some back with him and then other kids went out and found some more, and when the month of December fell upon them, it was practically a war zone.

Kane could no longer relax, he had to keep his eyes constantly trained upward, always searching, waiting. To him, it was paramount that he avoid the stupid plant at all times, lest he fall victim to its curse. If he spotted one hanging above a doorway or on a tent flap, he immediately turned away and found a different route to his destination. He could take no chances.

It wasn’t long before others noticed his strange behavior.

“What’s up with Kane?” A puzzled Abby asked a nearby Sinclair one evening, after watching Marcus abruptly change direction after spotting the plant hanging almost above his head when passing under new corridor. “Why does he hate mistletoe so much? It’s just harmless fun.” Abby had quite fond memories of mistletoe herself. There was an instance of it she remembered vividly, when she was fifteen and Jake had surprised her by hanging a piece of mistletoe over the corridor she had to past through every day when leaving the medical wing. She had been thrilled at the time, her heart fluttering, and she still thought about it on occasion when she passed by the bundle of white berries and leaves above her head.

Sinclair shrugged. “I have no idea. Why don’t you ask him?”

“Maybe.” Abby said. She knew Marcus would probably never admit why he had been avoiding the holiday decoration—and her, for that matter—but it couldn’t hurt to try.

She walked abruptly over to him, put on a welcoming smile. He stood, arms crossed, staring at the accursed plant.

“It’s not poisonous, you know.” Abby smirked, and Kane spun around upon hearing her voice.

“I know that.” He said flatly.

“Then why do you keep avoiding it all the time?” _And me_ , she kept thinking.

They faced each other, their stare unwavering for a minute, until Kane found himself turning his head away. “I’m not avoiding it.”

Abby stood indignantly. “Yes, you are.”

Kane refused to look at Abby while giving his answer. “Because it’s silly, childish, a waste of time, and we all have better things to do.” He strode brusquely away without waiting for a response.

Abby watched him walk away. Although what he was saying made a certain amount of sense, she couldn’t help but feel that there was something else he was leaving out. She knew he probably wouldn't tell her the real reason—Marcus could be stubborn as hell at times. _But so can I_ , she thought, before she let herself criticize him for that. It was almost hard for her to understand his hatred, since she had had such fond memories of it since her adolescence. She _had_ to make him understand the beauty of the simple tradition that had stuck around.

There was only one thing she could do to get Kane to change his mind. A smile crept slowly across her face as her plan began to form. She raced down the hallway until running into one of the kids who she had seen putting up some mistletoe earlier, grabbing him by the arm.

“Jasper, I need your help.”

* * *

Marcus Kane didn’t always hate mistletoe. In fact, he used to think it was a rather fun game to play, putting it up in random places and watching his friends playfully kiss each other. He enjoyed it until his fifteenth year of the holiday season, something he remembered all too well.

When Abby had confronted him earlier asking him about it, he knew she was thinking of that same year that he was. The year he had finally worked up the nerve to ask out the girl he had had a crush on for as long as he could remember. The year he happened to strategically set up a piece of plastic mistletoe right above the door where he knew she would exit from each day after finishing her medical training.

He had had it all mapped out—he would wait behind the corner, then, when he saw the flash of golden hair meaning she had finished being in medical training for the day, he would briskly stroll down the corridor, _accidentally_ run into her, point upwards at what was hanging above them, and then bam—perfect kiss.

Well, a guy could dream.

He nailed the first part okay. He saw his pretty blonde crush exit and turn left and he began to try and catch up with her, that is, until he saw that someone had beaten him to it.

Jake Griffin was awaiting her under the very mistletoe that he himself had set up. He watched her blush as Jake pointed up, watched as they shared the very same kiss he had fantasized about. He knew that Jake had no way of knowing about his plan— he just happened to see the opportunity and go for it—but it weighed a crushing blow upon his heart all the same.

Ever since that day he could only stare at the plant with a sense of bitterness and regret, despite the passing years it was still something that lingered at the back of his mind. And she had no idea about his involvement in one of her happier memories. The whole thing made him so damn spiteful he could almost laugh about it.

Now, when seeing the mistletoe around the camp, he could only think that he didn’t want to take any chances, lest he mess things up _again_.

* * *

Later that day, as night approached, he had begun to relax and let his guard down, feeling like he was safe, at least for a little while. After glancing above his head one last time, he settled himself in a chair in his room, just wanting to relax for while.

He was definitely unprepared when Jasper burst into the room, shouting, “Kane! Come quick, it’s Abby!”

Kane sprang out of his chair immediately. “What happened? What’s wrong?” He asked, concern seeping into his voice.

“I’ll show you, but you have to follow me. Come quick!” Then, Jasper quickly left the room, and Kane raced to follow him. Jasper zigzagged down corridors, turning left and right and right again. However, Jasper was still a spry young teenager while Kane was a man nearing his late-forties, after awhile he found it rather hard to keep up with him, despite being in pretty good physical condition himself.

Kane eventually followed him up until he reached the open doors leading outside, and stopped for a minute, amazed that he had been unaware of the recent snowfall. It still mystified him, the weather here on Earth. He shivered from the brisk winter air, taking a quick look around at the beautiful white blanket that covered nearly the entire camp.

He looked around some more, at which point he realized he had completely lost Jasper, but at the same time found someone else.

“Abby? Are you alright?”

She seemed to come out of nowhere, but when he looked down there she was, smiling, standing next to him—she must’ve been waiting for him out here. _But if she’s not hurt that means_ …as Kane began to connect the dots, he slowly turned his head upwards, and, sure enough, there was a small plant with red berries and dark green spiny leaves hanging on the door frame directly above his head. _I’ve been set up_. He had been so focused on making sure Abby was okay that he forgot to check above him.

“Oh.” Knowing the implications, he looked down at Abby—who looked beautiful with the snowflakes falling behind her—and felt his face reddening. 

“Abby, " He began, in an effort to ease the tension, "you should know that I mainly don’t like mistletoe because-" He then stopped before he could bring himself to tell her the story. Why should he let his bitterness ruin what he was sure was one of her favorite memories? Let her have one happy memory in their frequently dismal lives. “I didn’t have a very good experience with it when I was younger.” He finished, half-heartedly. 

“I figured it was something like that. But, you can’t let one bad experience ruin it for you.” Abby said, but then—after actually looking up at the plant—her smile faded into a frown.

Marcus noticed the change in expression right away. “What?”

“That’s actually not mistletoe.” _Damn it, Jasper_ , Abby thought. _Don’t you know what mistletoe looks like?_ “See how the berries are red, not white, and the leaves have a spiny edge? That’s holly, not mistletoe.”

“Oh.” Kane actually felt a twinge of disappointment and Abby’s face seem to mimic his own feelings. Feeling a strange surge of courage knowing that Abby had purposefully brought him out here, he decided, _to hell with mistletoe_ , he was going take the chance, _damn it_ , even if it would be the second time he had tried.

“You know what I think?” He took a step closer to her, and their gazes met, their bodies less than an inch apart now, so close he could feel the frost from her breath from the frigid winter air.

“What do you think?” She asked softly, tilting her head slightly up towards him. For a minute he didn’t move, didn’t say anything, their tender gaze saying more than words ever could.

“I think,” his voice was barely above a whisper now, he reached out and lightly brushed her hair out of her face, letting his hand linger, “that mistletoe is overrated.”

A smile crept across Abby’s face, and he just couldn’t take it any longer—he cupped her face and pulled her closer until their lips met. Their bodies were so close he could practically feel the nervous flutter of her excited heartbeat. In that moment, the cold was forgotten—replaced by the warmth of their lips pressed together, his hand in her hair—pulling her close—their faces, red, pleasantly warm, and extremely flustered.

Abby broke apart for a moment, pulling her mouth away, saying, “You know, mistletoe is great.” She leaned her face carefully against his, so that their cheeks were touching and she could whisper in his ear, “But holly is better.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda cheesy and predictable, I know. Hope you enjoyed. Happy Holidays, everyone! Let me know what you thought! <3


End file.
